Moscow Gets Snowed In

The headline in today's Moscow Times reads..."Heaviest Snowfall Ever Hits Moscow." The story says that "a powerful snowstorm raged in Moscow on Friday that was the heaviest day's snowfall since weather records began. The snowfall forced planes to divert away from airports, snarled traffic and made pedestrains wade through meter-high snowdrifts." For those who are metrically challenged, one meter adds up to more than 39 inches of snow!

Hopefully the plow crews are working overtime so Russian officials can get back to work on Monday. We are crossing fingers and toes in hopes of getting a call this week. Hopefully we'll have good news to share soon.

Uggghhh!

Yep..."ugh" pretty well sums things up right now. Of course, we could use more colorful language that more appropriately captures our current state of affairs. But, since Bo and Ellie will probably read these entries some day, we'll keep things PG-13.

We continue to be in a holding pattern regarding our trip back to Russia. And, things are rather frustrating since all we can really control is how many times we call our adoption agency each week to figure out what they know. The most challenging part is that we haven't even been able to find anything out about how the kids are doing in nearly two months.

But, there is good news. It seems some couples, adopting children from other regions in Russia, are getting their court dates and traveling back to complete their proceedings. Our hope is that things start moving again soon in Rostov. We are anxious to bring the kids home so they can get their medical check ups and meet their new family and friends.

We hope to have good news to share soon. In the meantime, we'll share a quote from George Bernard Shaw that seems fitting. Shaw said, "Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage: it can be delightful." Thanks for checking in on us.

Radio Wisdom

Today was the first day back to work for many Russian officials that had been off celebrating the New Year. So, this morning we picked up the phone again and renewed our efforts to figure out what in the wide world of sports is going on with our adoption proceedings.

As expected, we did not get any new information today. But, we will continue to push for some progress and hope things will come together soon so we can travel back. The waiting game has become more challenging for us now that the holidays have passed, but the reminders to take things as they come, continue to roll in. Some of these messages come from friends, and others come from listening to music and hearing lyrics that you never thought would speak to you.

It's probably a bit pathetic...like when you broke up with your first sweetheart and then thought every song on the radio about love gone wrong was written especially for you. But, desparate times call for desparate measures.

It's with that disclaimer that I tell you that a punk band, Greenday, pretty well summed things up for us today. The song, Time of Your Life, was on a '94 CD titled, Dookie. Go figure. But, the lyrics hit the mark for us and we're sure we will indeed have the time of our lives once Bo and Ellie are officially part of the Marker Family.

Lyrics:

Another turning point; a fork stuck in the road.
Time grabs you by the wrist; directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test and don't ask why.
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

We'll let you know when we get any good news. Thanks for checking in on us.

Happy New Year

If all goes as planned, 2005 will be one wild ride. We are expecting a call around the middle of the month that should provide us with a court date regarding when we can get back to see Bo and Ellie. Our hope is that the court date will come before the end of the month, but if you've read along with us to this point, you can appreciate our reluctance to place any bets.

Our recent trips to San Diego and Kansas City provided a nice respite to calendar watching. We had lots of fun at the San Diego Zoo, visiting LaJolla, touring Coronado, ringing in the New Year at the Simon residence and cheering on the Jayhawks with the Alderdices. But, now that the holidays are behind us, we find ourselves really chomping at the bit to get back to Russia.

In the midst of all this, we have been watching the tragedy unfold from the tsunami that hit parts of Asia and east Africa. The loss of life is hard to fathom and the number of children who are now orphans is truly heart breaking. As a way to honor Bo and Ellie, we made a contribution to an organization called Save The Children. If you are considering which relief group to support, please check this group out at www.savethechildren.org. The group's web site says, "Save the Children is a leading nonprofit humanitarian relief and development organization working in more than 40 countries throughout the developing world and the United States. Our mission is to create lasting, positive change in the lives of children in need."

From the stories we are all seeing on television these days, it is clear that thousands of children on the other side of the world desperately need our help. Save The Children is a well-established, credible group making a difference for tsunami victims. And, 90 percent of the funds raised go directly to helping those in need. Thanks for considering this group and for keeping Bo and Ellie in your thoughts.